Ink gun for refilling cartridge-type fountain pens



United States Patent Inventor Glenn T. Randol,

Loch Lynn Heights, Md. (P.O. Box 275, Mountain Lake Park, Maryland 215501 Appl. No, 811,748

Filed April 1, 1969 Patented Oct. 13, 1970 INK GUN FOR REFILLING CARTRIDGE-TYPE FOUNTAIN PENS v8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 141/205, 401/134, 401/222 Int. Cl 843k 11/02 141/205,

Field of Search l14;40l/l32l34.222

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1946 Florman 141/205 9/1965 Kovaes 141/205 FOREIGN PATENTS 2/1958 Germany 141/23 8/1952 Great Britain 4-. 141/205 Primary Examiner-Lawrence Charles ABSTRACT: A manual ink gun for refilling cartridge-type fountain pens from bottle ink, said gun being adapted to replace the penholder on the cartridge container (barrel) to refill an empty cartridge whereupon replacement of the gun by the penholder conditions the pen for writing.

Patented Oct. 13, 1976 r I 3,533,455

i 22 v FIG! II III-n III'II III III/IIIIIIII/ IA 1/11 II-I/I/I/I/I/IIII It 14 r!).

INK GUN FOR REFILLING CARTRIDGE-TYPE FOUNTAIN PENS This invention relates to fountain pens and more particularly to pens utilizing a disposable ink cartridge, and has for its primary objective the provision of novel manual pump means for refilling the original cartridge from bottle ink without personal contact with the ink.

A further object is to utilize a novel manual ink gun which can be charged with a volume of ink substantially equal to the capacity of the ink cartridge and inject the sameinto the cartridge without overflowing it.

Another object is to enable refilling the ink cartridge upon detaching the penholder without removing the empty cartridge from the pen barrel, the pen being conditioned for writing upon replacing the ink gun by the penholder.

Another object is to utilize the original cartridge by refilling it over and over from bottle ink from such an ink gun thus economizing by avoiding the expense of having to purchase disposable filled cartridges in commerical packs.

Another object is to provide an ink gun for refilling ink cartridges from bottle ink in the color desired such cartridges being usually limited commercially to blue, black and red, and more often than not, the latter two colors are not stocked by the retailer.

Another object is to provide novel plunger-type mechanism or, optionally., a squeeze and release elastic bulb, for operating said ink gun.

Still another object is to enable marketing commerical cartridge-type fountain pens with a single cartridge either filled or empty, which can be conveniently and economically filled repeatedly by means of the novel ink gun aforesaid from bottle ink in the color and/or brand desired.

And, a still further object is to employ biasing means for holding the charge of ink in the ink gun while the latter is being placed in operating position on the ink cartridge to fill the same under manual operation at will.

Other and more detailed objects and advantages will become apparent from the following comprehensive disclosure of the invention taken in conjunction with the drawing, in which:

FIG. I is an elevation on an enlarged scale of a commercial cartridge-type fountain pen with the cap removed;

FIG. 2 is a transverse section taken on an enlarged scale along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and showing in particular the apertured end wall of the ink cartridge with which the penholder or ink gun communicates;

FIG. 3 is an elevation partly in section on an enlarged scale of FIG. 1 and showing the empty ink cartridge and connected penholder removed from the pen barrel;

FIG. 4 is an elevation partly in section on the same scale as FIG. 3 and showing the'novel ink gun charged with ink from an ink supply under the plunger thereof moved to fully retracted position in readiness to fill the ink cartridge at will.

FIG. 5 is an elevation on the same scale as FIG. 4 but show ing the ink gun and connected'ink cartridge installed on the pen barrel and the gun plunger operated to fully protracted position thus filling the ink cartridge; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a modified ink gun which utilizes a squeeze and release elastic bulb for drawing ink from-the source of supply into the gun cylinder and expelling it therefrom to fill the ink cartridge.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4, I have illustrated in FIG. I a conventional cartridge-type fountain pen generally designated CI with its cap C removed, for purposes of operatively relating the same with the disclosed novel manual ink gun generally designated IG, and will be described briefly as follows:

This pen comprises: a plastic ink cartridge 9'removably carried in an elongated hollow container (barrel) l0 closed at one end II and having an internally threaded portion I2 adjacent its open end. A penholder 13 provided with an externally threaded shank 14, is adapted to engage the threaded open end 12 to mount the penholder on said barrel in writing position. The shank 14 is provided with an axial bore I5 to produce a flow path (feed) of the ink from the cartridge 9. The bore 15 is fitted with a tubular element 16 having its outer end portion formed at an angle to produce a cutter (bit) I7 which is effective to cut a sealing aperture (hole) through the confronting end wall I9 of the cartridge and to project therethrough as a function of rotatably threading thesliank of the penholder I3 into engagement with the open threaded end 12 of the pen barrel 10. The other end wall 20 of the cartridge 9 abuts the closed end 11 of the hollow in the pen barrel 10. Therefore, the cartridge 9 is confined between the end 21 of the shank l4 and closed end II of the barrel 10 as shown in FIG. I, and,the tubular element I6 forced under threading of the penholder 13 onto the pen barrel 10 through the confronting wall 19, produces a flow path for the ink from the cartridge 9 to the nib (pen point) 22 as is understood. The flow path (feed) of the ink through the penholder is so designed that a "thermic regulator is provided usually by means of two tubes, one within the other, in the feed. The space between these tubes is so dimensioned that ink clings to the walls thereof by'capillary action to accommodate the excess ink which may flow out of the cartridge 9 as a result of a rise in temperature as by body temperature in holding the pen, and which, in the absence of any compensating system, would cause a blot on the paper. Thus, the space between the tubes provides a compensating chamber to absorb and hold the ink by said capillary action by regulating the quantity of ink at the pen point 22 as a safeguard against blots. The construction of this compensating chamber varies with different types of pens under consideration.

In FIG. 2 the hole 18 is shown in the end wall 19 of the ink cartridge 9, said hole being ink-tight around the tubular element 16 when the penholder 13 and cartridge 9 are assembled on the pen barrel 10 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. This sealing between the tubular element 16 and hole 18 is produced by forcing the element 16 through the end wall 19 as aforesaid to produce a precision sized hole which, combined with the resilient characteristic of the wall 19 prevents seepage from the cartridge into the pen barrel I0, and is supplemented by the end 21 of the shank 14 being in ink-tight sealing contact with the outer face of the cartridge end wall 19 thus producing a secondary seal to prevent any seeping into the barrel 10 of the pen CP. The shank 14 terminates in an annular shoulder 23 opposite its end 21 which shoulder is adapted to engage the metallic band at the open end 12 of the pen barrel 10, to establish full threaded engagement between the penholder I3 and barrel 10. 7

FIG. 4 depicts my n'o'vel ink gun IG mounted atop the empty ink cartridge 9 following removal from the pen barrel 10 and detachment of the penholder I3, and FIG. 5 shows the ink cartridge 9 and connected ink gun IG returned to the pen barrel l0 and the gun operated to fill the cartridge. This novel ink gun IG comprises: a walled cylinder 24 preferably formed from clear plastic material, said'cylinder being closed at one end by an integrated wall 25 having its inner face tapering toward the center and its outer face provided with an externally threaded projection (stem) 26 adapted to engage the internally threaded portion 12 at the open end of the pen barrel 10 to mount the ink gun IG on said pen CP. A centrally disposed ink passage 27 passes through said stem 26 and end wall 25 in communication with the interior of said cylinder, and a tube 28 is made ink-tight at one end in said passage and the other exposed end portion 29 of the tube is adapted to project through a ringlike absorbent element 29 such as felt or foam rubber, and thence through the aforesaid hole 18 in the cartridge end wall 19. The purpose of this absorbent ring 29 is to collect any ink spray or mist that may form around the exterior of the opening 18 due to too rapid refilling of the cartridge or when withdrawing the tube 28 from said hole upon operating the ink gun [G to fill the cartridge. The outer diameter of the absorbent ring 29' slidably interfits the threaded open end 12 of the pen barrel 10 therefore is a part of the ink gun assembly as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. If this absorbent ring should become saturated with ink, it may be removed from the tube 28 and thoroughly rinsed with water and then reinstalled on the tube 28 to dry for future service.

A pair of diametrically opposed air channels 30 is provided in the surface defining the aforesaid passage 27 as shown in FIG. 5. These two surface channels extend from the end ofthe stem 26 to a point intersecting a pair of horizontal air passages 31, respectively, processed in the end wall 25 of the cylinder 24 and communicating at their outer ends with the atmosphere, the lower ends of the air channels 30 communicate with the annular space obtaining between the tube 28 and hole 18 in the cartridge, via the absorbent ring 29' which is characterized by porosity, thus maintaining the interior of the cartridge 9 as it is being filled, at atmospheric level for unrestricted flow of the ink into the cartridge under the ink gun lG.

Reciprocably disposed in said cylinder 24 is a plunger 32 which is complementally formed on its inner face to fit into the tapering face of the end wall 25 when the plunger 32 is fully protracted as shown in FIG. 5. Projecting from the outer face of the plunger 32 is a coaxially related reduced diameter plunger rod 33 which extends through a central hole 34 formed in a cuplike closure cap 35 for the open end of said cylinder, said closure cap having a bottom wall 36 formed on its outer face with a coaxial annular embossment (collar) 37 through which said hole 34 passes, and a threaded connection 38 between a circular flange 39 and confronting external portion of the cylinder wall adjacent the open end of the latter. A vent hole 40 is provided in the bottom wall 36 to prevent trapping air behind the plunger 32 thus maintaining the air chamber AC" above the plunger 32 in the cylinder at atmospheric level, and that portion of the interior of the cylinder below said plunger 32 defines an ink chamber lC" which varies as the plunger moves in said cylinder. The outer end 41 of the plunger rod 33 is fitted with a cuplike member 42 by means of a cap screw 43 passing through a central hole 44 in the bottom wall 45 of said member into threaded engagement with a threaded hole 46 processed in the outer end portion of said plunger rod 33 as shown, said bottom wall 45 having an outstanding circular flange 47 in radially spaced relation to the plunger rod 33. A compressed spring 48 encircles said embossment at one end and the exposed outer portion of said plunger rod and operatively reacts between said bottom wall 36 of the closure cap 35 and bottom wall 45 of the member 42 to bias the plunger 32 toward full retracted position as shown in FIG. 4, Alignment of the coils of the spring 48 is maintained by opposite ends of the spring being confined around said embossment 37 and the inner diameter of the flange 47, respectively.

The cap member 42 is adapted for finger pressure to be applied thereto to protract the plunger 32 in opposition to said spring 48 through its full operating stroke within the cylinder 24 to displace the ink contained in the ink chamber lC into the cartridge 9 to fill the same.

H6. 6 illustrates a modified ink gun |Ga" wherein the plunger 32, plunger rod 33, spring 48, and vented cap member 42, are replaced by an elastic squeeze and release bulb 51. The open end of the bulb is defined by an annular resilient bead 52 which engages an exterior annular groove 53 formed in the embossment 37" of the closure member 35" in airtight fitting relation. Squeezing the bulb to collapse the same, expels the air therefrom and release of the bulb draws the ink from the well of the ink bottle, for example, to fill the cylinder 23 under suction (vacuum) created by the bulb returning to normal distended status shown, whereupon manual squeezing of the bulb forces the ink in the cylinder 24 through the ink passage of the tube 28 into the the ink cartridge 9 to fill the same as in the case where the plunger type ink gun is used.

In operation, the'user first removes the penholder l3 and connected empty ink cartridge 9 from the pen barrel as shown in FIG. 3; the second step is to detach the penholder 13 from the empty ink cartridge 9 and return it to the pen barrel 10; the third step is to insert the tube 28 ofthe ink gun lG into the wellof the ink bottle (not shown) while the plunger 32 is fully protracted under finger pressure applied to the cap member 42 in opposition to the spring 48; the fourth step is to release finger pressure from the cap member 42 while the tube 28 is so inserted to enable the spring 48 to retract the plunger 32 to fill the gun cylinder 24, that is, the ink chamber [C as is understood; the fifth step is to install the ink gun 10 while filled with ink on the pen barrel 10 by rotating the latter relatively to the ink gun lG to effect the threaded connection therebetween with the tube 28 projecting loosely through the hole 18 in the confronting end wall 19 of the ink cartridge 9; the sixth step is to apply finger pressure to the cap member 42 to protract the plunger 32 to expel the ink from the ink chamber lC through the passage 27 and connected tube 28 into the ink cartridge 9 to fill the same; and the final step is to condition the pen C? for writing by replacing the ink gun lG with the penholder 13.

[t is obvious from the disclosure, that the threads on the stem 26 of the ink gun [G may be eliminated to present a smooth cylindrical surface projectable into the threaded open end 12 of the pen barrel 10, thus eliminating the threaded connection therebetween, and, in such case, the ink cartridge 9 may be refilled by the ink gun 16 whether the former is removed from the pen barrel as shown in FIG. 3 or returned to the latter as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. Thus, this modification enables the user to stabilize the empty ink cartridge 9 in one hand and insert the tube 28 projecting from the end of the stem 26 into the apertured end wall 19 and operate the plunger 32 by the other hand to fill the connected cartridge or stabilizing the empty ink cartridge 9 in the pen barrel 10 held in one hand and then inserting the smooth stem 26 into the open threaded end 12 of said barrel 10 and operate the plunger 32 with the other hand to refill the cartridge with both hands free of messinessi Accordingly, the ink gun 16 may be installed on the pen barrel 10 by means of the disclosed threaded connections or with the latter eliminated to present a smooth stem insertable into the pen barrel opening 12. The invention further contemplates that the plunger 32 may be eliminated in favor of the disclosed squeeze and release elastic bulb (see FIG. 6) such as used with medicine droppers, to fill the cylinder 24 with ink and discharge the same through the tube 28 into the connected ink cartridge. Moreover, the retractive spring 48 may also be eliminated thus relying solely on manual force applied to the cap member (finger-piece) 42 to reciprocate the plunger 32 for the purpose described.

In either of the two above-described methods of mounting the ink gun lG on the pen barrel 10, the absorbent ring 29 undergoes slight compressive deformation to carry out its function and is effective between the end of the stem 26 and the wall 19 to absorb any ink that may appear on the latter during the refilling operation, and also the air passes through the absorbent ring 29 from the interior of the cartridge 9 as it is being filled due to the loose fit between the tube 28 and the hole 18 and the pair of surface channels 30 in continuous communication with said absorbent ring, and exhausted to at mosphere through the intersecting radial air passages 31, as the ink rises in the cartridge 9 thus maintaining the space above the ink at atmospheric level to counteract compressive effects developing in the cartridge as it is being filled which tend to block free flow of the ink thereinto.

In the commercial form of the ink gun lG, the cylinder 24 would be processed from clear plastic material so that the ink chamber lC may be visibly checked to insure being fully charged before attempting to fill the ink cartridge 9. All other parts comprising the assembly would be molded from industrial plastic material such as Nylon or Teflon" excluding the spring 48 and cap screw 43. Even the tube 28 could be integral with the end wall 25 of the cylinder 24 or a separate metallic thin-walled tube as shown. The ink cartridge capacity is substantially the same as the ink chamber lC when fully charged thus enabling refilling the cartridge without overflowing. Accordingly, a full reciprocative stroke of the plunger 32 would be effective to charge the ink chamber [C with the correct amount of ink and inject the same into the ink cartridge 9, respectively, without overflowing.

ln removing the penholder 13 from the pen barrel where the threaded connection therebetween is utilized as shown in FIG. 3, the user would stabilize the pen barrel in one hand and unscrew the penholder with the other hand; and conversely, when installing the ink gun 10 the latter would be stabilized in one hand and the pen barrel rotated by the other hand to threadingly attach the ink gun to the open end of the pen barrel and simultaneously insert the tube 28 into the apertured end 19 of the ink cartridge 9. If the threads have been removed from the stem 26, then the user would hold the ink cartridge in one hand and attach the ink gun lG with the other hand by a thrust movement whether or not the ink cartridge 9 is removed from the pen barrel.

From the foregoing description taken in conjuction with the drawing, it is believed the achieving of the enumerated objects and advantages of the invention has been accomplished. The novel and patentable ink gun I6 is operably associable with pen barrels of commercial cartridge-type fountain pens to provide a more flexible selection of ink brands and /or colors on a more economical basis. Fountain pens of the type under consideration are usually sold with a pack of five or six cartridges filled with blue ink. Any one of these cartridges may be used over and over by refilling them from bottle ink with the aforedescribed ink gun lG. Moreover, these five or six cartridges as the case may be, may be refilled with different colors of ink and stored in a suitable rack with their open ends up for subsequent use in the same pen barrel according to the choice of ink color thus eliminating the need for purchasing factoryfilled cartridges, a five-pack of which would cost as much or more than two bottles of ink each containing over two fluid ounces, enough ink to refill a considerable number of cartridges.

The preferred embodiment and modifications thereof have been illustrated and described in detail, however, it is to be understood that the invention contemplates the full scope thereof as defined by the terms of the subjoined claims.

lclaim:

l. The combination of a cartridge-type fountain pen; a source of ink; an elongated hollow container having a closed end opposite an open end; a detachable penholder adapted to close the open end of said container; an elongated ink cartridge removably carried in the hollow of said container, and having a closed end opposite an apertured end; an ink gun having a variable cylindrically walled ink chamber closed at one end and open at the other; a member movable relatively to said chamber; a stern projecting from the closed end of said chamber into the open end of said container to close the same and thereby mounting said ink gun on said container in operative association with the empty ink cartridge upon detaching said penholder; a tube projecting through said stem and closed end of said container in continuous communication with said chamber, said tube extending loosely through the apertured end of said cartridge when said ink gun is mounted on said container; air passage means incorporated in said stem and closed end of said container for continuously venting the in terior of said cartridge via said apertured end to the atmosphere; and means for moving said movable member in one direction to expel air from said chamber and in the opposite 5 direction to create suction in said chamber effective to draw ink from said source via said tube into said chamber to fill said chamber, said member being subsequently movable in said one direction to discharge the ink in said chamber through said tube into said cartridge to fill the same.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which said container is a pen stock and the open end thereof is internally threaded for reception of a complementally threaded portion on said penholder to condition the pen for writing.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 2 in which said member is a plunger reciprocably disposed in a cylinder defining said chamber and including a reduced extension terminating in a finger-piece to enable application of finger-pressure effective to move said plunger in one direction to e xpel air from said chamber; and a normally compressed spring operably related with said extension for moving said plunger upon release of said finger-pressure in the opposite direction to draw ink via said tube from said source under said suction into said chamber to fill the same whereby movement of said plunger in said one direction is effective to discharge the ink in said chamber through said tube into the ink cartridge to fill the same when said ink gun is mounted on said pen stock.

4. The combination as claimed in claim 2 in which said ink chamber is defined by a cylinder and said member is a squeeze and release elastic bulb for charging said chamber via said tube with ink from said source, and discharging the same through said tube into said ink cartridge to fill the same when said ink gun is mounted on said pen stock.

5. The combination as claimed in claim 3 in which said stem is externally threaded for engaging the threaded open end in part of said pen stock to mount said ink gun in cartridge-filling position thereon and simultaneously project said tube loosely through the apertured end of said cartridge upon detaching said penholder. I

6. The combination as claimed in claim 4 in which the cylindrical surface of said stem is smooth and adapted to project into the threaded open end in part of said pen stock to mount said ink gun in cartridge-filling position thereon and simultaniously project said tube through the apertured end of said cartridge upon detaching said penholder.

7. The combination as claimed in claim 5 including a ringlike absorbent element through which said tube projects and which, under slight compressive deformation, occupies the space in said threaded open end between the end of said stem and confronting face of the cartridge apertured end to absorb any ink thereon resulting from the refilling operation.

8. The combination as claimed in claim 6 including a ringlike absorbent element through which said tube projects and which, under slight compressive deformation, occupies the space in said threaded open end between the end of said stem and confronting face of the cartridge apertured end to absorb any ink thereon resulting from the refilling operation.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,535, 55 Dated OC'CObEI 13, 1970 Inventofls) It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 22, after "desired" insert a comma;

Column 5, line 5h, "container" should read chamber Column 6, line 1, "container" should read chamber Signed and sealed this 15th day of July 1975- (SEAL) Attest C. MARSHALL DANN RUTH C. MASON Commissioner of Patents Arresting Officer and Trademarks 

